Keaton Hartman (Earth-1260)
History Getting Ahead in Life Keaton never had too many problems in his life. He'd always been somewhat of a jerk, he'd always fight first and talk later, but that was just who he was. It seemed to work for him, so he stuck with it. His goal in life was to become a boxer, but after he had failed to do that, he became an accountant. Which he hated. So he kept trying to achieve his dream. Eventually, Keaton achieved his dream and adopted the boxing name "The Man with No Master" and he was undefeated. His dream had come true. Being Murdered Although he'd accomplished his dream, Keaton didn't let that deflate his ego one bit. He'd gotten cocky and greedy. Despite his fame and fortune, he felt alone. He felt he had no true friends in the world. He tried not to let it bother him. Eventually, he'd reached the biggest match in his life against "Battlin' Jack Murdock", sometimes called "The Devil". Keaton knew he had to win, but things got complicated when a man named Keniucho Harada came to him a few hours before the fight and told him to throw it, but Keaton's ego refused to trust the mysterious man. Not only did he not throw the fight, he won the fight. That was the biggest mistake of his life. That night, when he was walking home, Keniucho approached him, and for the first time in his life, Keaton felt nervous. Then and there, Keniucho grinned and an arrow was shot into Keaton's back. Then another. And another. One after the other, arrows were shot into his back. He wanted to scream but he found he couldn't. He felt the poison entering his body. But that wasn't what killed him. Keniucho's sword that chopped off his head is what killed him. The Hand Keaton's head and body were brought across the world to an unknown part of Japan, where the Ninja clan known as "The Hand" performed sorcery on his decaying body which brought him back to life with no memories of his past. All he knew was that his life belonged to the Hand. The Hand trained him in ways he'd never experienced. He still had his boxing training, but the Hand did not like his fighting style. They recreated him in their image. For the better, they told him. They assured him that what they were doing would make him the greatest. Foolishly, he believed them. The Hand's fighting style was nearly identical to that of a Samurai, and Keaton proved to be amazing with a sword. He killed at least eight Hand members the first time he was given a sword, but he refused to learn the sorcery to resurrect them, which got him punished. And the worst part, he felt he deserved to be punished. Clan of Akihiro After nearly three years of being a slave to the Hand, he was freed by a mysterious woman wearing the outfit of a Ninja. He attempted to fight her, but she knocked him out in the less than a minute. She had little to no trouble dragging his body away from the Hand's palace, and her relentless stealth abilities proved too much for the Hand to detect. When Keaton awoke, he was told by a man named Akihiro that everything he thought he knew about himself was a lie. He'd been sedated, so he did not feel the need to fight back. The man named Akihiro helped Keaton train the true ways of a Samurai. He felt at peace with Akihiro, and after achieving peace, he gained access to his memories, and he was surprised as to how much of a jerk he used to be, and he started to believe that he deserved what he got, but Akihiro strove to convince him otherwise. Relationship with Elektra Eventually, Keaton met the woman who had rescued him from the Hand. Her real name was Stacy Natchios, but she hated the name. She wished to only be referred to as Elektra. Keaton didn't argue, he understood not wanting to be associated with their past. The two of them became close, and Keaton eventually developed enough courage to ask her why she freed him from the Hand. After a while, she confessed that she was once a puppet to them as well, and she discovered they'd taken another, she felt she had to free him. Akihiro argued against her going, but she disobeyed his orders and went anyways. Keaton was touched that she saved him, and she tried to convince him it was just instinct. But he knew it was more than that. It wasn't long until the two of them were in love. Keaton was pleased that he had redeemed himself and that he was no longer the man he previously was. He felt his life finally had meaning. Working Against the Hand Keaton knew deep down his peace wouldn't last long. About a month after he and Elektra had fallen in love, the Hand had located Akihiro's palace, and they massacred it. No mercy was shown from either side that day. The Hand lost many of its operatives, but their loss was nothing compared to that of the Akihiro Clan. Keaton saw Akihiro slain from behind, only cowards killed when their victim's guard was down. He made sure that Akihiro's killer's head was clean off his body and separated far enough that he wouldn't be resurrected. When the massacre had ended, and the Hand had retreated, it seemed as if only Keaton and Elektra had survived. Elektra told Keaton that he was now a Rōnin, a Samurai without a master. Attaching himself to this new name, he adopted Rōnin as his new name, refusing to be Keaton Hartman any longer. Elektra was proud of him. The two of them decided it was time the Hand got what was coming to them, so Keaton outfitted himself in Akihiro's first costume he used as a vigilante before becoming a Samurai, and the Rōnin and Elektra had left the palace after giving Akihiro a proper burial, and they were going to end the Hand. Permanently. Even if it killed them. Category:Heroes Category:Males Category:Earth-1260 Category:Naturally Enhanced Biology Category:Agility Category:Expert Combatant Category:Weapons Experts Category:Advanced Technology Wielder Category:Sword Wielders Category:Murderers Category:Heterosexual Characters Category:Created by Artemis Thorson Category:Formerly Deceased